UAE Exchange sees growth in transactions to Arab corridor

Dubai / Emirates Business

The World Bank Group’s Migration and Development April 2016 Report has positioned the GCC as a global hub of outward remittances, particularly to non-GCC Arab countries. The report, which highlights the movement of people as well as remittance flows, presents data that dovetails with internal research of UAE Exchange, the leading global remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions brand.
“We are very pleased that the 2016 World Bank Group Report supports our assertion that, despite market fluctuations, remittance corridors from the GCC to the rest of the world remain robust. This underpins the GCC as a region with strong, functioning and expanding economies that attract talent and manpower from world over, especially the Arab region,” said Promoth Manghat, CEO, UAE Exchange.
“What we’re seeing is that the GCC remains a key hub for remittance outflows to other Arab countries. The World Bank Migration and Development Report coincides with our internal research, which shows that remittance corridors remain steady even in the face of market challenges and the socio-political landscape in the Arab world. Our year-on-year remittance transactions to the Arab markets have grown by 6% in Q1 2016. The conclusion is that the GCC is very much the de facto destination for expatriate workers to come, live, save and remit due to sound government policies and robust economies,” added Promoth.
The World Bank Group Report notes that despite economic pressures, remittance outflows from oil exporting GCC countries continued to rise in 2015 due to maintenance of fiscal spending, and the peg to a strong US$ by most economies in the GCC.
The report states that remittances from the GCC to other Arab countries remained strong, with Egypt, Jordan and Yemen among the leading remittance receivers. Commenting on the trend, Promoth notes, “We’ve been aware of the importance of the GCC to Egypt and Jordan corridors for a while. These countries are among the largest receivers of remittances from the GCC, and we’ve seen a rise in our remittance transactions to Egypt and Jordan by 14.4 percent and 13.5 percent respectively in Q1 2016 compared to the same period last year.”